James Harden is Your NBA Live 18 Cover Star

August 10, 2017Written by Tyler Treese

James Harden is your NBA Live 18 cover star. Electronic Arts revealed today that the Houston Rockets’ guard will be the face of their restarted basketball franchise. The former gold medal Olympian first became a star in the league after being drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s been in Houston since 2012, and has been a part of the All-NBA first team three of the past four years.

“When I heard about working with EA Sports and being the cover athlete of NBA Live 18 I was pretty excited for the opportunity,” said Harden. “NBA Live 18 is all about creating your own identity and making your mark on the league, and I can definitely relate to that. If anybody knows about creativity it’s me.”

Check out the cover below:

While James Harden will be the NBA Live 18 cover star, the inclusion of WNBA athletes might end up being the biggest deal for the September 9 release. This will be the first time that the female basketball league is included in a video game. The women will be able to be played in a WNBA Play Now mode, and will be able to be played online.

Here’s what NBA Live Executive Producer Sean O’Brien had to say about including the WNBA in the game:

We are extremely proud to partner with the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) on this groundbreaking occasion. The WNBA is home to some of the most incredible athletes on the planet, and we’ve been working hard to integrate them into our game in an authentic and meaningful way. This is only a taste of what we have in store, and look forward to working with the league on more great integrations in the franchise in the future.

NBA Live 18 releases September 15, 2017. A free demo will release August 11. We’ll have hands-on impressions and an interview with Electronic Arts’ Mike Mahar tomorrow.